1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for producing any desired portions and formats of products, comprising an aligning belt which conveys the products and at a transfer edge transfers them to a portioning belt on which the portions and/or the formats are produced and with which the portions are conveyed onwards in the corresponding formats. The present invention also relates to a system comprising the device according to the invention and a packaging machine and to a method for producing any desired portions and formats of products.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Positioning systems for positioning products, for example foodstuffs, other goods and the like, are known. Here the products are transferred by a conveyor belt, for example, to a packaging line. As these packaging systems are nowadays constructed in multiple rows, an incoming product stream has to initially be divided into the number of product streams corresponding to the number of product rows in the packaging line. Distribution of a single-row product stream among a multi-row packaging line is currently only possible when the number of conveyor belts with incoming products is arranged parallel above the respective row of the packaging line, by means of which the individual products or product stacks are then placed in the respective row of the packaging line or are ejected from the conveyor belt.
The plant engineering for this is very complex. In addition, the depositing sequence for the individual stacks cannot be varied, or can only be varied with considerable expenditure. Complex machinery is required for a change of format in the packaging machine, for example from three rows to four rows, before the products can be positioned in a packaging line.
Therefore, the object is to provide a device for producing any desired portions and formats, which does not have the drawbacks of the prior art.
The object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1. The sub-claims relate to preferred embodiments of the present invention.
A portion according to the invention is any arrangement in which products, in particular foodstuffs, are arranged in a specific portion pattern. The stack, the shingling in the longitudinal and transverse directions, in each case with and without overlapping, the zigzag pattern and the terrace-like row are mentioned here as non-limiting examples of possible portion patterns.
A format according to the invention is the arrangement which the individual portions assume with respect to one another. The format of the portions is generally based on the arrangement of the packaging cavities of a subsequent packaging machine in which the portions are deposited and/or the clock rate at which the packaging cavities are conveyed onwards. The products are preferably deposited in parallel product rows.